TITLE: The lonely prayer

A priest praying the waves not destroying his church

AUTHOR: Paolo Lazzarotti (Italy)

I live in a small village very close to some of the most beautiful italian places like Cinque Terre
National Park, the Gulf of Poets, the Tuscan countryside and a wild coast line.
I took my first steps in Photography when I was 19 with a compact film camera which was given by
my father. I loved this gift. It inspired me to look at the world around me in a different way. I was a
self taught photographer learning everything by myself without books or instruction.
My favourite subjects were landscapes, sunsets and all the things in the natural world. I cultivated
a love of sea storms and sometimes faced risk while photographing huge waves and rain. When
nature would reveal herself to me with her majestic strength and beauty, I’d feel stupefied next
to her.
It’s for this same reason that I came to love female portraiture. When I work with a model I like to
hear her speak. She becomes animated talking about sensuality and passion. Rarely will I have a
model pose in a static way. Working with models I feel the same wonder as when I capture images
of storms.